1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to result set management (e.g., in a data store).
2. Description of the Related Art
A database system is one in which data is stored, retrieved, and processed. Data records in a relational database management system (RDBMS) in a computer are maintained in tables, which are a collection of rows all having the same columns. Each column maintains information on a particular type of data for the data records which comprise the rows. Tables in the database are searched using, for example, a Structured Query Language (SQL), which specifies search operations or predicates to perform on columns of tables in the database to qualify rows in the database tables that satisfy the search conditions.
Relational DataBase Management System (RDBMS) software using a Structured Query Language (SQL) interface is well known in the art. The SQL interface has evolved into a standard language for RDBMS software and has been adopted as such by both the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Standards Organization (ISO).
Given a database system in which queries are performed, it is difficult to manage saving and removing of the results of the queries. The results may also be referred to as “result sets.” Each record is identified by a unique key. A record is formed from a set of table(s). The results may be saved in cache, but are eventually, and usually quickly, removed from the database system and replaced with new results. Therefore, if a user wants to later obtain the result set for a point in time without re-executing a query, the user is typically unable to do so.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved technique for result set management.